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Copyright, igoi, by Charles E. Brown & Co. 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


It was perhaps a fortunate thing for Elizabeth 
that her ancestors went back to the Conquest, and 
that she numbered at least two countesses and a 
Duchess among her relatives. Her father had long 
since joined the majority, and, her mother being an 
invalid, they had lived a good deal abroad. But, at 
about seventeen, Elizabeth began to pay visits 
among her kinsfolk. It was after arriving at Naze- 
by Hall for a Cricket Week that she first wrote 
home. 


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THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


Nazeby Hall, 

August 3d. 

Dearest Mamma, — 

I got here all right, without even a smut on my 
face, for Agnes tidied me up in the brougham be- 
fore we arrived at the gate. The dust in the train 
was horrid. It is a nice house. They were at tea 
when I was ushered in; it was in the hall — I sup- 
pose it was because it was so windy outside. There 
seemed to be a lot of people there; and they all 
stopped talking suddenly, and stared at me as if I 
were a new thing in the Zoo, and then after a min- 
ute went on with their conversations at the point 
they left off. 

Lady Cecilia pecked my cheek, and gave me two 


lO 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


fingers ; and asked me, in a voice right up at the top, 
how were you. I said you were better and — you 
know what you told me to say. .She murmured 
something while she was listening to what a woman 
with a sweet frock and green eyes was saying at the 
other end of the table. There was heaps of tea. 
She waved vaguely for me to sit down, which I did ; 
but there was a footstool near, and it was gloomy, 
so I fell over that, but not very badly, and got safely 
to my seat. 

Lady Cecilia — continuing her conversation 
across the room all the time — poured out a cup of 
tea, with lumps and lumps of sugar in it, and lots of 
cream, just what you would give to a child for a 
treat! and she handed it to me, but I said, '‘Oh! 
please. Lady Cecilia, I don’t take sugar !” She has 
such bulgy eyes, and she opened them wide at me, 
perfectly astonished, and said, "Oh! then please 
ring the bell ; I don’t believe there is another clean 
cup,” and everybody stopped talking again, and 
looked at me, and the green-eyed lady giggled — 
and I rang the bell, and this time didn’t fall over 
anything, and so presently I got some tea ; and just 
as I was enjoying such a nice cake, and watching 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


II 


all the people, quite a decent man came up and sat 
down behind me. Lady Cecilia had not introduced 
me to anybody, and he said, “Have you come a 
long w^ay?’" and I said “Yes.” And he said, “It 
must have been dusty in the train,” and I said it was 
— and he was beginning to say something more, 
when the woman with the green eyes said, “Harry, 
do hand me the cucumber sandwiches,” and so he 
had to get up, and just then Sir Trevor came in, 
and he was glad to see me. He is a jolly soul, and 
he said I w^as eight when he last saw me, and seemed 
quite surprised I had grown any taller since! Just 
as though people could stay at eight! Then he 
patted my cheek, and said, “You’re a beauty, Eliza- 
beth,” and I,ady Cecilia’s eyes bulged at him a good 
deal, and she said to me, “Wouldn’t you like to see 
your room ?” and I said I w^asn’t a bit in ^ hurry, 
but she took me ot¥, and here I am ; and I am going 
to wear my pink silk for dinner, and I will finish 
this bye and bye. 

12.30. Well, I have had dinner, and I found out 
a good many of their names — they mostly arrived 
yesterday. The woman with the green eyes is Mrs. 
de Yorburgh-Smith. I am sure she is a pig. The 


12 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


quite decent man, ‘‘Harry, is a Marquis — ^the Mar- 
quis of Valmond — because he took Lady Cecilia 
into dinner. He is playing in the Nazeby Eleven. 

There is a woman I like, with stick-out teeth ; her 
name is Mrs. Vavaseur. She knows you, and she is 
awfully nice, though so plain, and she never looks 
either over your head, or all up and down, or talks 
to you when she is thinking of something else. 
There are heaps more women, and the eleven men, 
so we are a party of about twenty-five ; but you will 
see their names in the paper. 

Such a bore took me in! He began about the 
dust again, but I could not stand that, so I said 
that every one had already asked me about it. So 
he said “Oh 1” and went on with his soup. 

At the other side was another of the Eleven, and 
he said, did I like cricket? and I said “No, I hated 
always having to field” (which was what I did, you 
know, when I played with the Byrne boys at Biar- 
ritz) ; and I asked him if he was a good player, and 
he said “No,” so I said I supposed he always had 
to field too, then ; and he said No, that sometimes 
they allowed him a bat, and so I said I was sure 
that wasn’t the same game I played ; and he laughed 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


13 


as if I had said something funny — his name is Lord 
George Lane — and the other one laughed too, and 
they both looked idiots, and so I did not say any 
more about that. But we talked on all the time, 
and every one else seemed to be having such fun, 
and they all call each other by pet names, and 
shorten up all their adjectives (it is adjectives I 
mean, not adverbs) ; and I am sure you made a mis- 
take in what you told me, that all well-bred people 
behave nicely at dinner, and sit up, because they 
don’t a bit ; lots of them put their elbows on the ta- 
ble, and nearly all sat anyhow in their chairs. Only 
Lady Cecilia and Mrs. Vavaseur behaved like you 
do ; but then they are both quite old — over forty. 

They all talk about things that no stranger could 
understand, but I dare say I shall pick it up pres- 
ently. And after dinner, in the drawing-room, Lady 
Cecilia did introduce me to two girls — the Roose 
girls — you know. Well, Lady Jane is the best of 
the two ; Violet is a lump. They both poke their 
heads, and Jane turns in her toes. They have rather 
the look in their eyes of people with tight boots. 
Violet said, ‘‘Do you bicycle?” and I said “Yes, 
sometimes and she said, with a big gasp : 


14 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


“Jane and I adore it. We have been ten miles 
since tea with Captain Winchester and Mr. Wertz.’' 

I did not think that interesting, but still we 
talked. They asked me stacks of questions, but did 
not wait for the answers much. Mr. Wertz is the 
African millionaire. He does not play cricket, and, 
when the men came in afterwards, he crossed over 
to us, and Jane introduced him to me when he had 
talked a little. He is quite a sort of gentleman, 
and is very at home with every one. He 
laughed at everything I said. Mrs. Smith (such 
bosh putting “de Yorburgh” on !) sat on a big sofa 
with Lord Valmond, and she opened and shut her 
eyes at him, and Jane Roose says she takes every 
one’s friend away ; and Lord George Lane came up, 
and we talked, and he wasn’t such an idiot as at din- 
ner, and he has nice teeth. All the rest, except the 
Rooses and me, are married — the women, I mean — 
except Miss La Touche, but she is just the same, 
because she sits with the married lot, and they all 
chat together, and Violet Roose says she is a cat, 
but I think she looks nice ; she is so pretty, and her 
hair is done at the right angle, because it is like 
Agnes does mine, and she has nice scent on ; and I 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


15 


hope it won’t rain tomorrow, and good-night, dear 
Mamma. Yonr affectionate daughter, 

ELIZABETH. 

P. S. — ^Jane Roose says Miss La Touche will 
never get married; she is too smart, and all the 
married women’s men talk to her, and that the best 
tone is to look rather dow’^dy ; but I don’t believe it, 
and I would rather be like Miss La Touche. E. 

Elizabeth received an immediate reply to her let- 
ter, and the next one began : 


i6 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


Nazeby Hall, 

August 5th. 

Dear Mamma, — 

I am sorry you find I use bad grammar and 
write incoherently, and you don’t quite approve of 
my style; but you see it is just because I am in a 
hurry. I don’t speak it ; but if I must stop to think 
of grammar and that, I should never get on to tell 
you what I am doing here, so do, dear mamma, try 
and bear it bravely. Well, everybody came down to 
breakfast yesterday in a hat, and every one was late 
— that is, every one who came down at all, the rest 
had theirs upstairs. The cricket began, and it was 
really a bore. We sat in a tent, and all the nice men 
were fielding (it is always like that), and the mar- 
ried lot sat together, and talked about their clothes. 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


17 


and I.ady Doraine read a book. She is pretty, too, 
but has big ears. Her husband is somewhere else, 
but she does not seem to miss him ; and the Rooses 
told me her hair used to be black, and that they 
have not a penny in the world, so I think she must 
be clever and nice to be able to manage her clothes 
so well. They are perfectly lovely, and I heard her 
say her maid makes them. And Miss La Touche 
happened to be next me, so she spoke to me, and 
said my hat w^s “too devey for words’’ (the blue 
one you got at Caroline's) ; and by-and-by we had 
lunch, and at lunch Lord Valmond came and sat by 
me, and so Mrs. Smith did too, and she gushed at 
me, and he seemed rather put out about something 
— I suppose it was having to field all the time — and 
she talked to him across me, and she called him 
“Harry” lots of times, and she always says things 
that have another meaning. But they all do that — 
repeat each other’s Christian names in a sentence, 
I mean — ^just like you said quite middle-class peo- 
ple did when you were young, so I am sure every- 
thing must have changed now. Well, after lunch 
all the people in the county seemed to come ; some 
of them had driven endless miles, and we sat apart, 


i8 THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 

I suppose to let them see how ordinary we thought 
them ; and Lady Cecilia was hardly polite, and the 
others were more or less rude ; but presently some- 
thing happened — I don’t know what — and the nice 
men had not to field any more. Perhaps they could 
not stand it any longer, and so every one who had 
been yawning woke up, and Mr. Wertz, who had 
been writing letters all this time, appeared, and 
Lady Doraine made room for him beside her, and 
they talked ; and when our Eleven had drank some- 
thing they came and lay on the grass near ns, and 
we had such a nice time. There is a beautiful man 
here, and his name is Sir Dennis Desmond, and his 
grandfather was an Irish king, and he talks to me 
all the time, and his mother looks at him and 
frowns ; and I think it silly of her, don’t you ? And 
if I were a man I wouldn’t visit with my mother if 
she frowned at me. Do you know her? She 
dresses as if she were as young as I am. vShe 
had a blue muslin on this morning, and her hair is 
red with green stripes in it, and she is all white 
with thick pink cheeks, and across the room she 
doesn’t look at all bad; but close! Goodness gra- 
cious! she looks a hundred! And I would much 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


19 


sooner have nice white hair and a cap than look 
like that, wouldn’t you? I’ll finish this when I 
come to bed. 

12.30. What do you think has happened? Sir 
Dennis sat beside me on the sofa just as he did last 
night — but I forget, I have not yet told you of yes- 
terday and last night ; but never mind now, I must 
get on. Well, he said I was a perfect darling, but 
that he never could get a chance to say a word to 
me alone, but that if I would only drop my glove 
outside my door it would be all right ; and I thought 
that such a ridiculous thing to say, that I couldn’t 
help laughing, and Lady C'ecilia happened to be 
passing, and so she asked me what I was laughing 
at, and so I told her what he had said, and asked 
why? And there happened to be a pause just then, 
and as one has to speak rather loud to Lady Cecilia 
to attract her attention, every one heard, and they 
all looked flabbergasted : and then they all shrieked 
with laughter, and Sir Dennis said so crossly '‘Lit- 
tle fool !” and Lady Desmond simply glared at me, 
and Lady Cecilia said, "Really Elizabeth !” and Sir 
Dennis got purple in the face, and Jane Roose whis- 
pered, "How could you dare with his wife listen- 


20 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


ing !’’ and every one talked and chaffed. It was too 
stupid about nothing; but the astonishing part is, 
that funny old thing I thought was the mother is 
his wife! 

Imagine 1 years and years older than him ! Jane 
Roose said he had to marry her because her hus- 
band died ; but I think that the most absurd reason 
I ever heard, don’t you? Because lots of people’s 
husbands die, and they don’t have to get married 
off again at once, and, so, why should that ugly old 
thing, specially when there are such heaps of nice 
girls about? 

Jane Roose said it was so honorable of him, but I 
call it crazy — unless perhaps he was a great friend 
of the husband’s, who made him promise when he 
was dying, and he did not like to break his word. 
ITow he must have hated it. I wonder if he had 
ever met her before, or if the husband made him 
take her, a pig in a poke. I expect that was it, be- 
cause he never could have done it if he had ever 
seen her. 

I can’t think why he is so cross with me, but I 
am sorry, as he is such a nice man. Now I am 
sleepy, and it is frightfully late, so I suppose I had 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 21 

better get into bed. Agnes came up, and has been 
fussing about for the last hour. — Best love, from 
your affectionate daughter, 


ELIZABETH. 


22 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


Nazeby Hall, 

August 7th. 

Dearest Mamma, — 

Yesterday was the best day we have had yet; the 
nice men had not to field at all, and the stupid 
cricket was over at four o'clock, and so we went 
into the gardens, and lay in hammocks, and Miss 
La Touche had such nice shoes on, but her ankles 
are thick. The Rooses told me it wasn’t “quite 
nice” for girls to loll in hammocks — (and they sat 
on chairs) — that you could only do it when you are 
married ; but I believe it is because they don’t have 
pretty enough petticoats. Anyway, Lady Doraine 
and that horrid Smith creature made a place for me 
in the empty hammock between them, and, as I 
knew my “frillies” were all right, I hammocked too, 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


23 


and it was lovely. Lord Valmond and Air. Wertz 
were lying near, and they said agreeable things, at 
least I suppose so, because both of them — Lady 
Doraine and A'Irs. Smith — looked purry-purry- 
puss-puss. They asked me why I was so sleepy, 
and I said because I had not slept well the last night 
— that I was sure the house was haunted. And so 
they all screamed at me, “Why?” and so I told 
them, what was really true, that in the night I heard 
a noise of stealthy footsteps, and as I was not 
frightened I determined to see what it was, so I got 
— Agnes sleeps in the dressing room, but of 
course she never wakes — I opened the door, and 
peeped out into the corridor. There are only two 
rooms beyond me towards the end, round the cor- 
ner, and it is dimly lit all night. Well, I distinctly 
saw a very tall grey figure disappear round the bend 
of the hall! When I got thus far, every one 
dropped their books and listened with rapt atten- 
tion, and I could see them exchanging looks, so I 
am sure they know it is haunted, and were trying to 
keep it from me. I asked Airs. Smith if she had 
seen or heard anything, because she sleeps in one 
of the rooms. She looked perfectly green, but she 


24 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


vsaid she had not heard a sound, and had slept like a 
top, and that I must have dreamt it. 

Then Lady Doraine and every one talked at once, 
and Lord Valmond asked did any one know if the 
I.ondon evening papers had come. But I was not 
going to be put off like that, so I just said, “I know 
you all know it is haunted, and are putting me off 
because you think I’ll be frightened ; but I assure 
you I’m not, and if I hear the noise again I am go- 
ing to rush out and see the ghost close.” 

Then every one looked simply ahuri. So I mean 
to get the ghost story out of Sir Trevor tonight 
after dinner — I had not a chance yesterday — as I 
am sure, it is interesting. Mrs. Smith looked at me 
as if she wanted to poison me, and I can’t think why 
specially, can you? 

Twelve p. m. I asked Sir Trevor if the house is 
haunted, and he said, “God bless my soul, no !” and 
so I told him, and he nearly had a fit ; so I know it 
is, but I am not a bit frightened. — Your affectionate 
daughter, 


ELIZABETH. 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


25 


Nazeby Hall, 

Sunday. 

Dearest Mamma, — 

Agnes and I start home by the ten-thirty train 
tomorrow, and I am not a bit sorry, although I 
have enjoyed myself, and now I begin to feel quite 
at home with every one — at least, some of them; 
but such a tiresome thing happened last night. It 
was like this : After dinner it was so hot that we 
all went out on the terrace, and, as soon as we got 
there, Mrs. Smith and Lady Doraine and the rest 
said it was too cold, and went in again; but the 
moon was pretty, so I stayed alone, and presently 
Lord Valmond came out, and stood beside me. 
There is such a nice view, you remember, from 
there, and I didn’t a bit want to talk. 

He said somiething, but I wasn’t listening when 
suddenly I did hear him saying this : ^‘You ador- 


26 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


able enfant terrible, come out and watch for 
ghosts tonight ; and I will come and play the ghost, 
and console you if you are frightened!” And he 
put his horrid arm right round my waist, and 
kissed me — somewhere about my right ear — before 
I could realize what he was at ! 

I was in a rage I as you can fancy. Mamma, so I 
just turned round and gave him the hardest slap I 
could, right on the cheek 1 He was furious, and 
called me a ^‘little devil,” and we both walked 
straight into the drawing-room. 

I suppose I looked savage, and in the light I 
could see he had great red finger marks on his face. 
Anyway, Mrs. vSmith, who was sitting on the big 
sofa near the window alone, looked up, and said in 
an odious voice, that made every one listen, “I am 
afraid, Harry, you have not enjoyed cooing in the 
moonlight : it looks as if our sweet Elizabeth had 
been difficult and had boxed your ears 1” 

That made me wild, the impudence! That par- 
venue calling me by my Christian name! So I just 
lost my temper right out, and said to her, ‘Tt is 
perfectly true what you say, and I will box yours if 
you call me ‘Elizabeth’ again !” 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


27 


Tableau ! ! She almost fainted with astonish- 
ment and fury, and when she could get her voice de- 
cent enough to speak, she laughed and said : 

‘^What a charming savage ! How ingenuous !” 

And then Lady Cecilia did a really nice thing, 
which shows that she is a brick, in spite of having 
bulgy eyes and being absent and tiresome. She 
came up to me as if nothing had happened, and 
said : “Come, Elizabeth, they are waiting for you 
to begin a round game,” and she put her arm 
through mine and drew me into the billiard room, 
and on the way she squeezed my arm, and said, in 
a voice quite low down for her, “She deserved it,” 
and I was so touched I nearly cried. From where 
I sat at the card table I could see Mrs. Smith and 
Lord Valmond, and they were quarrelling. She 
looked like green rhubarb juice, and he had the ex- 
pression of “Damn !” all over him. 

Of course I did not say good-night to him, and 
I hope I will never see him again. — Till tomorrow, 
your affectionate daughter. 


ELIZABETH. 










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THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


31 


Heaviland Manor, 

October 15th. 

Dearest Mamma, — 

I can’t think why you made me come here ! Ag- 
nes has been so sniffy and condescending ever since 
this morning; but I have remarked that Uncle 
John’s valet is only about forty and has a roving 
eye ! so perhaps by tomorrow morning I shan’t 
have my hair screwed oft’ my head ! But I feel for 
Agnes, only in a different way. 

It is a stuffy, boring place. You remember the 
house — enormous, tidy, hideous, uncomfortable; 
well, we had such a dinner last night after I arrived 
— soup, fish, everything popped on to the table for 
Great Uncle John to carve at one end, and Great 
Aunt Maria at the other! A regular Aquarium 


32 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


specimen of turbot sat on its dish opposite him, 
while Aunt Maria had a huge lot of soles. And 
there wasn’t any need, because there were four 
men servants in the room who could easily have 
done it at the side ; but I remember you said it was 
always like that when you were a little girl. Well, 
it got on to puddings. I forgot to tell you, though, 
there were plenty of candles on the table, without 
shades, and a “bouquet” of flowers, all sorts (I am 
sure fixed in sand) in a gold middle thing. Well, 
about the puddings — at least four of them were 
planted on the table, awfully sweet and jammy, 
and Uncle John was quite irritated with me because 
I could only eat two ; and Aunt Maria, who has got 
as deaf as a post, kept roaring to old Major Orwell, 
Vv^ho sat next her, “Children have no healthy appe- 
tites as in our day. Eh! What?” And I wanted 
to scream in reply, “But I am grown up now. Aunt 
Maria !” 

Uncle John asked me every question over and 
over, and old Lady Farrington’s false teeth jumped 
so once or twice that I got quite nervous. That is 
the party, me, Major Orwell, Lady Farrington, and 
Uncle and A-unt. 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


33 


When dessert was about coming, everything got 
lifted from the table, and before you could say 
“Jack Robinson’^ off w^hisked the cloth ! I was so 
unprepared for it that I said “Oh !” and ducked my 
head, and that made the cloth catch on old Lady 
Farrington’s cap — she had to sit on my side of the 
table to be out of the draught — and wasn’t it dread- 
ful, it almost pulled it off ; and with it the grey curls 
fixed at the side, and the rest was all bald, so that 
was why it was so loose, there was nothing to pin 
it to ! And she glared at me, and fixed it as straight 
as she could, but it had such a saucy look all the 
rest of the evening. 

I did apologize as well as I could, and there was 
such an awkw^ard pause; and after dinner we had 
coffee in the drawdng-room, and then in a little time 
tea, and between times they sat down to whist, all 
but Aunt Maria — so they had to have a dummy. 
She wanted to hear all about you, she said ; and so 
I had to bellow descriptions of your neuralgia, &c., 
and Auint Maria says, “Tut, tut!” as well as “Eh! 
what?’' to everything, I had not remembered a bit 
what they were like; but I was only six, wasn’t I, 
when we came last ? 


34 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


After she had asked every sort of thing about you 
under the sun, she kept giving longing glances at 
the dummy’s cards; so I said, “Oh! Aunt Maria, 
I am afraid I am keeping you from your whist,” 
and as soon as I could make her hear, you should 
have seen how she hopped up like a two-year-old 
into the vacant seat: and they were far more seri- 
ous about it than any one was at Nazeby, where 
they had hundreds on, and Aunt Maria and the 
others only played for counters — those long mother- 
o’-pearl fish kind. I looked at a book on the table, 
Lady Blessington’s Book of Beauty, and I see then 
every one got born with champagne-bottle shoul- 
ders. Had they been paring them for generations 
before, I wonder? Because Old John, the keeper 
at Hendon, told me once that the best fox-terriers 
arrive now without any tails, their mothers’ and 
grandmothers’ and great-grandmothers’ having 
been cut of¥ for so long ; but I wonder, if the fash- 
ion changed, how could they get long tails again? 
There must be some way, because all of us now 
have square shoulders. But what was I saying? 
Oh! yes, when I had finished the Beauty Book, I 
heard .A.unt Maria getting so cross with the old boy 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


35 


opposite her. You’ve revoked, Major Orwell,” 
she said, whatever that means. 

Then hot spiced port canre in — it was such a 
close night — and they all had some, and so did I, 
and it was good ; and then candles came. Such 
lovely silver, and so beautifully cleaned ; and Aunt 
and Uncle kissed me. I dodged Lady Farrington’s 
false teeth, because, after her cap incident, she 
might have bitten me. And Uncle said, “Too late, 
too late for a little one to sit up — no beauty sleep !” 
And Aunt Maria said, “Tut, tut!” and I thought it 
must be the middle of the night — it felt like it. But 
do you know% Mamma, when I got upstairs to my 
room it was only half-past ten 1 ! ! 

I have such a huge room, with a four-post feather 
bed in it. I had let Agnes go to bed directly after 
her supper, with a toothache, so I had to get un- 
dressed by myself; and 1 was afraid to climb in 
from the side, it was so high up. But I found some 
steps with blue carpet on them, as well as a table 
with a Bible, and a funny old china medicine spoon, 
and glass and water-jug on it; and the steps did 
nicely, for when I got to the top I just took a 
header into the feathers. It seemed quite comfy at 


36 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


first, but in a few minutes ! Goodness gracious ! I 
was suffocated ! And it was such a business getting 
the whole mass on the floor; and then I did not 
know very well how to make the bed again, and so 
I had not a very good night, and overslept myself 
in the morning. So I got down late for prayers. 
Uncle John reads them, and Aunt Maria repeats re- 
sponses whenever she thinks best, as she can’t hear 
a word ; but I suppose she counts up, and, from 
long habit, just says ‘"Amen” when she gets to the 
end of — thirty, say — fancying that will be right; 
and it is generally. Only Uncle John stopped in 
the middle to say, '‘Damn that dog !” as Fido was 
whining and scratching outside, so that put her out 
and brought in the “Amen” too soon. 

After breakfast Aunt Maria jingled a large bunch 
of keys and said it was her day for seeing the linen- 
room, and wouldn’t I like to go with her, as all 
young people should have “house-wifely” ideas. So 
I went. It is so beautifully kept, and such lovely 
linen, all with lavender between it ; and she talked 
to the housekeeper, and looked over everything — 
she seemed to know each sheet by name! And 
from there to the store-room^ all as neat as a new 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


37 


pin ; and from there to interview all the old people 
from the village, who were waiting with requests, 
and some of them were as deaf as she is. So the 
housekeeper had to scream at both sides, and I was 
tired when we got back, and did want to rush out 
of doors ; but I had to wait, and then walk between 
Lady Farrington and Aunt Maria, up and down the 
path in the sun, till lunch at one o’clock ; and after 
that we went for a drive in the barouche, with the 
fattest white horses you ever saw, and a coachman 
just like Cinderella’s one that had been a rat. He 
seemed to have odd bits of fur on his face and 
under his chin, and Aunt Maria said that he suffered 
from a sore throat, that was why, which he caught 
at Aunt Mary’s wedding — and so I counted up — 
and as Aunt Mary is your eldest sister, it must have 
been more than twenty years ago. I do call that a 
long sore throat, don’t you? and I wouldn’t keep a 
coachman with a beard, Avould you ? 

We went at a snail’s pace, and got in at four 
o’clock, and then there was tea at half-past, with the 
nicest bread-and-butter you ever tasted. And after 
that I said I must write to you, and so here I am. 


38 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


and I feel that if it goes on much longer I shall do 
something dreadful. Now good-bye, dearest 
Mamma. 

Your affectionate daughter, 

ELIZABETH. 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


39 


Heaviland Manor, 

October i8th. 

Dearest Mamma, — 

I am glad Saturday will soon be here, and that I 
can come home, but I mi^st tell you about yester- 
day. First, all the morning, it rained, and what 
with roaring at Aunt Maria, and holding skeins of 
wool for I.ady Farrington, I got such jumps that 
I felt I should scream unless I got out, so after 
lunch, while they were both having a nap in their 
chairs, I slipped off for a walk by myself — it was 
still raining, but not much ; I took Fido, who is 
generally a little beast, and far too fat. 

We had had a nice scamper, and had turned to 
come back not far from the Park — when who do 
you think should come riding up? — Lord Val- 
mond ! The last person one expected to see down 


40 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


here ! He never waited a second when he saw me, 
but jumped off his horse and beamed — just as if 
we had parted the best of friends ! ! ! Did you 
ever hear such impudence! Of course I should 
have walked on without recognizing him, if I had 
been left to myself, but he took me so by surprise, 
that I had shaken hands before I knew, and then it 
was too late to walk on. It appears he has a place 
down here, which he never comes to generally, but 
just happened to now — to see how the pheasants 
were doing. He began at once to talk, as if I had 
never been angry, or boxed his ears at all 1 It 
really exasperated me ; so at last I said he had bet- 
ter get on his horse again, as I wanted to run on 
with Fido, so then he said he had just been on his 
way to call on Aunt Maria, and would come with 
me. 

I said I was sure that wasn’t true, as he was go- 
ing the other way. So he said that he had only 
been going that way to give his horse a little exer- 
cise, and that he intended to go in at the other gate. 

So I said I was sure that wasn’t true either, as 
there was no way round that way, unless one 
jumped the park palings. So he said that was 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


41 


what he had intended to do. Just then we came 
to the turnstile of the right-of-way, so I just slipped 
through and called out, 'Then I won’t keep you 
from 3 ’'our exercise,” and walked on as fast as I 
could. 

What do you think he did, Mamma ? Simply got 
on his horse, and jumped those palings there and 
then! I can’t think how he wasn’t killed. There 
was almost no take-off, and the fence is so high. 
However, there he was, and I could not get away 
again, because, if I had run, the horse could easily 
have kept up with me. But I only said "Yes” and 
"No” all the way to the house, so he could not have 
enjoyed it much. We went straight to the drawing- 
room, where tea was almost up, and there was 
Lady Farrington alone — still asleep, and her cap 
had fallen right back, and all the bald was showing ; 
and just then a carriage drove up to the door, and 
we heard visitors and the footsteps in the hall. I 
had just time to cry to Lord Valmond, "Keep them 
back while I wake her I” and then I rushed to Lady 
Farrington, and shouted in her ear, "Visitors ! and 
— and — your cap is a little crooked 1” "Eh I what?” 
she screamed, and her teeth as nearly as possible 


42 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


jumped on to the carpet. She simply flew to the 
mirror, but, as you know, it is away so high up she 
couldn’t see, so she made frantic efforts with her 
hands, and just got it to cover the bald, but in a 
rakish, one-sided way, when the whole lot streamed 
into the room. Lord Valmond looked awfully un- 
comfortable. Goodness knows what he had said to 
them to keep them back! Anyway, Harvey an- 
nounced ^‘Mrs. and the Misses Clarke.” and a thin, 
very high-nosed person, followed by two bufflsh 
girls, came forward. Lady Farrington said, “How 
do ye do?” as well as she could. They were some 
friends of hers and Aunt Maria’s, who are staying 
with the Morverns, I gathered from their conversa- 
tion. They must have thought she had been on a 
spree since last they met! I could hardly behave 
for laughing, and did not dare to look at Lord Val- 
mond. 

They had not been there more than five minutes 
when another carriage arrived, and two other ladies 
were announced. “The Misses Clark !” The other 
Clarkes glared like tigers, and Lady Farrington 
lowered her chin and eyelashes at them (she has just 
the same manners as the people at Nazeby, al- 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


43 


though she is such a frump — it is because she is an 
Earl’s daughter, I suppose), and she called out to 
Harvey at the top of her voice, ‘‘Let Lady V^^orden 
be told at once there are visitors.” The poor new 
things looked so uncomfortable, that I felt, as I was 
Aunt Maria’s niece, I, at least, must be polite to 
them, so I asked them to sit down, and we talked. 
They were jolly, fat, vulgar souls, who have taken 
the Ortons’ place they told me, and this was their 
return visit, as the Ortons had asked Aunt Maria to 
call. They were quite old maids, past thirty, with 
such funny, grand, best smart Sunday-go-to-meet- 
ing looking clothes on. 

It appears that Harvey had sent a footman up to 
Aunt Maria’s door, to tell of the first Clarkes’ ar- 
rival, and then, terrified by Lady Farrington’s 
voice, had rushed up himself to announce the sec- 
ond lot, and he met Aunt Maria on the stairs com- 
ing down, and of course she never heard the differ- 
ence between '"Mrs.” and the "‘Misses,” and thought 
he was simply hurrying her up for the first set. So 
in she sailed all smiles, and as Mrs. Clarke was 
nearest the door, she got to her first, and was so 
glad to see her. 


44 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


“Dear, dear, years since we met, Honoria,” she 
said ; “and these are all your bonny girls, tut, tut 1” 
and she looked at the fat Clarks who came next. 
“Ah ! yes, I can see ! What a wonderful likeness 
to poor dear Arthur 

Furious glances from Mrs. Clarke, whose daugh- 
ters are my age 1 

“And this must be Millicent,’’ she went on, taking 
the second fat Clarkes hand. “Yes, yes; why, she 
takes after you, my dear Honoria, tut tut V’ and she 
squeezed hands, and beamed at them all in the kind- 
est way. Mrs. Clarke, bursting with fury, tried to 
say they were no relations of hers ; but, of course, 
Aunt ATaria could not catch all that, only the word 
“relations,” and she then caught sight of the buff 
Clarkelets in the background. 

“Ah ! yes, I see, these are your girls ; I have mis- 
taken your other relations for them.” Then she 
turned again to the fat Clarks, evidently liking their 
jolly faces best. “But one can see they are Clarkes. 
Let me guess. Yes, they must be poor Henry’s 
children !” At this. Lord Valmond had such a vio- 
lent fit of choking by the tea-table that Aunt Maria, 
who hears the oddest, most unexpected things. 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


45 


caught that, and saw him, and saying “How d’ye 
do?” created a diversion. Presently I heard Lady 
Farrington roaring in a whisper into her ears the 
difference between the Clarkes and Clarks, and the 
poor dear was so upset; but her kind heart came 
up trumps, and she was awfully nice to the two vul- 
gar Clarks, who had the good sense to go soon, and 
then the others went. Then she got Lord Valmond 
on to her sofa, and he screamed such heaps of nice 
things into her ear, just as if she had been Mrs. 
Smith, and she was so pleased. And Uncle John 
came in, and they talked about the pheasants, and 
he asked I.ord Valmond to dinner on .Saturday 
night, and he looked timidly at me, to see if I was 
still angry with him and wanted him not to come, 
so I smiled sweetly, and he accepted joyfully. Isn’t 
it lovely. Mamma? I shall be home with you by 
then, and I.ady Farrington and Major Orwell are 
going too ! So he will have to play dummy whist 
all the evening with Uncle and Aunt, and eat his 
dinner at half-past six ! Now, good-night. 

Your affectionate daughter, 

ELIZABETH. 



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THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


49 


Carriston Towers, 

October 27th. 

Dearest Lfamma, — 

I shall never again arrive at a place at three 
o’clock in the afternoon ; it is perfectly ghastly ! As 
we drove up to the door — it was pouring with rain 
— I felt that I should not like anything here. It 
does look such a large grey pile ; and how cold and 
draughty that immense stone hall must be in win- 
ter ! There were no nice big sofas about, or palms, 
or lots of papers and books; nothing but suits of 
armour and great marble tables, looking like monu- 
ments. I was taken down endless passages to the 
library, and there left such a long time that I had 
got down an old Punch and was looking at it, and 
trying to warm my feet, when Lady Carriston came 
in with Adeline. I remember how I hated playing 
with her years ago ; she always patronised me, being 


50 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


three years older, and she is just the same now, only 
both their backs have got longer and their noses 
more arched, and they are the image of one an- 
other. Adeline seems very suppressed ; Lady Car- 
riston does not — her face is carved out of stone. 
They look very well bred and respectable, and badly 
dressed ; nothing rustled nicely when they walked, 
and they had not their nails polished, or scent on, 
or anything like that ; but Lady Carriston had a 
splendid row of pearls round her throat, on the top 
of her rough tweed dress and linen collar. 

They pronounce their words very distinctly, in an 
elevated kind of way, and you feel as if icicles were 
trickling down your back, and you can’t think of a 
thing to say. When we had got to the end of your 
neuralgia and my journey, there was such a pause ! 
and I suppose they thought I was an idiot, and 
only too glad to get me off to my room, where Ade- 
line took me, and left me, hoping I had everything 
I wanted, and saying tea was at five in the blue 
drawing-room. And there I had to stay while Ag- 
nes unpacked. It was dull ! It is a big room, and 
the fire had only just been lit. The furniture is 
colourless and ugly, and, although it is all comfor- 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


51 


table and correct, there are no books about, except 
“Romola” and '‘Middlemarch” and some Carlyle 
and John Stuart Mill, and I did not feel that I could 
do with any of that just then. So there I sat twid- 
dling my thumbs for more than an hour, and Agnes 
did make such a noise, opening and shutting 
drawers, but at last I remembered a box of caramels 
in my dressing-bag, and it was better after that. 

Agnes had put out my white cashmere for tea, 
and at five I started to find my way to the blue 
drawing room. The bannisters . are so broad and 
slippery, the very things for sliding on. I feel as 
if I should start down them one day, just to aston- 
ish Adeline, only I promised you I would be good. 
Well, when I got to the drawing-room, the party — 
about twelve — had assembled. The old Earl had 
been wheeled in from his rooms : he wears a black 
velvet skull-cap and a stock, but he has a splendid 
and distinguished old face. If I were he, I would 
not have such a dull daughter-in-law to live with 
me as Lady Carriston is, even if my son was dead. 
The boy Charlie Carriston was there too; he does 
look a goose. He is like those pictures in the 
Punch that I was looking at, where the family is so 


52 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


old that their chins and foreheads have gone. He 
is awfully afraid of his mother. There were two or 
three elderly pepper-and-salt men, and that Trench 
cousin, who is a very High Church curate (you 
know Aunt Mary told us about him), and there are 
a Sir Samuel and Lady Garnons, with an old maid 
daughter, and Adeline’s German governess, who 
has stayed on as companion, and helped to pour out 
the tea. 

The conversation was subdued; about politics 
and Cabinet Ministers, and pheasants and foxes, 
and things of that kind, and no one said anything 
that meant anything else, as they did at Nazeby, 
and the German governess said “Ach” to every- 
thing, and Lady Garnons and Miss Garnons knitted 
all the time, which gave their voices the sound of 
one-two-three when they spoke, although they did 
not really count. No one had on tea- gowns — just a 
Sunday look of clothes. I don’t know how we 
should have got through tea if the coffee-cream 
cakes had not been so good. The old Earl called 
me to him when we had finished, and talked so 
beautifully to me ; he paid me some such grand old- 
fashioned compliments, and his voice sounds as if 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


53 


he had learnt elocution in his youth ; there is not a 
word of slang or anything modern; one quite un- 
derstands how he was able to wake up the House 
of Lords before his legs gave way. It seems sad 
that such a ninny as Charlie should succeed him. 
1 feel proud of being related to him, but I shall 
never think of Lady Carriston except as a distant 
cousin. Both Charlie and Adeline are so afraid of 
her that they hardly speak. 

I shan’t waste any of my best frocks here, so I 
made .Vgnes put me on the old blue silk for the 
evening. She was disgusted. 

At dinner I sat between Charlie and one of the 
pepper-and-salts — he is an M.P. They are going 
to shoot partridges to-morrow: and I don’t know 
what we shall do, as there has been no suggestion 
of our going out to lunch. 

After dinner we sat in the yellow drawing-room ; 
Lady Carriston and Lady Garnons talked in quite 
an animated way together about using their per- 
sonal influence to suppress all signs of Romanism 
in the services of the Church. They seemed to 
think they would have no difficulty in stopping it. 
They are both Low Church, Miss Garnons told 


S4 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


me, but that she herself held quite different views. 
Then she asked me if I did not think the Reverend 
Ernest Trench had a “soulful face,'*’ so pure and 
abstracted that merely looking at him gave thoughts 
of a higher life. I said, No ; he reminded me of a 
white ferret we had once, and I hated curates. She 
looked perfectly sick at me and did not take the 
trouble to talk any more, but joined Adeline, who 
had been winding silk with Fraulein Schlarbaum, 
for a tie she is knitting. So I tried to read the 
Contemporary Review, but I could not help hearing 
Lady Carriston telling Lady Garnons that she had 
always brought up Adeline and Charlie so carefully 
that she knew their inmost thoughts. (She did not 
mention Cyril, who is still at Eton.) 

“Yes, I assure you, Georgina,'’ she said, “my dear 
children have never had a secret from me in their 
innocent lives.” 

When the men came in from the dining-room, one 
of the old fellows came and talked to me, and I dis- 
covered he is the Duke of Lancashire. He is ordi- 
nary looking, and his shirts fit so badly — that nasty 
sticking-out look at the sides, and not enough 
starch. I would not haA^e shirts that did not fit if 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


55 


I were a duke, would you? They are all staying 
here for the Conservative meeting to-morrow even- 
ing at Barchurch. These three pepper-and-salts 
are shining lights in this county, I have gathered. 
Lady Carriston seems very well informed on every 
subject. It does not matter if she is talking to Mr. 
Haselton or Sir Andrew Merton (the two M.P.’s), 
or the Duke, who is the M.F.H., or the curate ; she 
seems to know much more about politics, and hunt- 
ing, and religion than they do. It is no wonder she 

can see her children’s thoughts ! 

At half-past ten we all said good-night. The 

dear old Earl does not come in from the dining- 
room ; he is wheeled straight to his rooms, so I 
did not see him. Miss Garnons and Adeline both 
looked as if they could hardly bear to part with 
their curate, and finally we got up stairs, and now 
I must go to bed. 

Best love from your affectionate daughter, 

ELIZABETH. 

P.S. — Everything is kept up with great state 
here; there seemed to be a footman behind every- 
one’s chair at dinner. 


56 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


Carriston Towers, 

October 28th. 

Dear Mamma, — 

I was so afraid of being late for breakfast this 
morning that I was down quite ten minutes too 
soon, and when I got into the breakfast-room I 
found Charlie alone, mixing himself a brandy cock- 
tail. He wanted to kiss me, because he said we 
were cousins, but I did not like the smell of the 
brandy, so I would not let him. He made me 
promise that I would come out with him after 
breakfast, before they started to shoot, to look at 
his horses ; then we heard some one coming, and he 
whisked the cocktail glass out of sight in the neat- 
est way possible. At breakfast he just nibbled a 
bit of toast, and drank a glass of milk, and Lady 
Carriston kept saying to him, ‘‘My dear, dear boy. 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


57 

you have no appetite,” and he said, ‘‘No, haying 
to read so hard as he did at night took it away.’^ 
The Duke seemed a little annoyed that there' was 
not a particular chutney in his curried kidneys, 
which I thought very rude in another person s 
house; and. as it was Friday, the Reverend Mr. 
Trench refused every dish in a loud voice, and then 
helped himself to a whole sole at the side-table. 

The food was lovely. Miss Garnons did not eat 
a thing, and Lady Garnons was not down ; nor, of 
course, the old Earl. 

After breakfast we meandered into the hall. 
Smoking is not allowed anywhere except in the bil- 
liard-room, which is down yards and yards of pas- 
sages, so as not to let the smell get into the house. 
We seemed to be standing about doing nothing, 
so I said I would go up and get my boots on, or 
probably there would not be time to go with Charlie 
to see his horses before they started. 

You should have seen the family’s three faces! 
Charlie’s silly jaw dropped, Adeline’s eyebrows ran 
up to her hair almost, while Lady Carriston said in 
an icy voice : “We had not thought of visiting the 
stables so early.” 


58 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


Did you ever hear of anything so ridiculous, 
Mamma? Just as though I had said something im- 
proper! I was furious with Charlie, he had not 
even the pluck to say he had asked me to go ; but 
I paid him out. I just said, “I concluded you had 
consulted Lady Carriston before asking me to go 
with you, or naturally J should not have suggested 
going to get ready.’' He did look a stupid thing, 
and bolted at once ; but Lady Carriston saw I was 
not going to be snubbed, so she became more po- 
lite, and presently asked me to come and see the 
aviary with her. 

As we walked down the armour gallery she met 
a servant with a telegram, and while she stopped to 
read it I looked out of one of the windows, the 
wall is so thick they are all in recesses ; and Charlie 
passed underneath, his head just level with the open 
part. The moment he saw me he fished out a scrap 
of paper from his pocket, and pressed it into my 
hand, and said, “Don’t be a mug> this time,” and 
was gone before I could do anything. I did not 
know what to do with the paper, so I had to slip 
it up my sleeve, as with these skirts one hasn’t a 
pocket, and T did feel so mad at having done a thing 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


59 


in that underhand way. The aviary is such a won- 
derful place, there seem to be birds of every kind, 
and the parrakeets do make such a noise. There 
are lots of palms here and seats, but it is not just 
an ideal place to stay and talk in, as every creature 
screams so that you can hardly hear yourself speak. 
However, Miss Garnons and Mr. Trench did not 
seem to think that, as while Lady Carriston stopped 
to say “Didysy, woodsie, poppsie Dicksie” to some 
canaries, I turned a corner to see some owls, and 
there found them holding hands and kissing (the 
White Ferret and Miss Garnons, I mean, of course 
— not the owls). They must have come in at the 
other door, and the parrots’ noises had prevented 
them from hearing us coming. You never saw two 
people so taken aback ! They simply jumped away 
from one another. Mr. Trench got crimson up to 
his white eyelashes and coughed in a nervous way, 
while poor Miss Garnons at once talked nineteen 
to the dozen about the “darling little owlies,” and 
never let go my arm until she had got me aside, 
when she at once began explaining that she hoped 
I would not misinterpret anything I had seen ; that 
of course it might look odd to one who did not un- 


6o 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


derstand the higher life, but there were mysteries 
connected with her religion, and she hoped I would 
say nothing about it. I said she need not worry 
herself. .She is quite twenty-eight, you know. 
Mamma, so I suppose she knows best ; but I should 
hate a religion that obliged me to kiss White Ferret 
curates in a parrot-house, shouldn’t you ? 

Lady Carriston detests Mr. Trench, but as he is 
a cousin she has to be fairly civil to him, and they 
always get on to ecclesiastical subjects and argue 
when they speak ; it is the greatest fun to hear them. 
They walked on ahead and left me with Miss Gar- 
nons until we got back to the hall. 

By this time the guns had all started, so we saw 
no more of them. Then Adeline suggested that she 
and I should bicycle in the Park, which has miles 
of lovely road (she is not allowed out of the gates 
by herself), so at last I got up to my room, and 
there, as I was ringing the bell for Agnes, Charlie’s 
piece of paper fell out on the floor. I had forgotten 
all about it. Wasn’t it a mercy it did not drop while 
I was with Lady Carriston! This was all it was: 
^^Come down to tea half an hour earlier ; shall sham 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


6i 


a hurt wrist to be back from shooting in time. — 
Charlie.’^ 

I could not help roaring with laughter although 
I was cross at his impertinence, taking for granted 
that I would be quite ready to do whatever he 
wished. I threw it in the fire, and, of course, I 
sha’n’t go down a moment before five. Adeline has 
just been in to see why I am so long getting ready. 
— Good-bye, dear Mamma, 

Love from your affectionate daughter, 

ELIZABETH. 


62 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


Carriston Towers, 

Saturday. 

Dearest Mamma, — 

Oh! what a long day this has been! But I al- 
ways get so muddled if I don’t go straight on, that 
I had better finish telling you about Friday first. 
Well, while Adeline and I were bicycling, she told 
me she thought I should grow quite pretty if only 
my hair was arranged more like hers — she has a 
jug-handle chignon — and if I had less of that 
French look. But she supposed I could not help 
it, having had to spend so much time abroad. She 
said I should find life was full of temptations, if I 
had not an anchor. I asked her what that was, and 
she said it was something on which to cast one’s 
soul. T don’t see how that could be an anchor — do 
you. Mamma? because it is the anchor that gets 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


63 


cast, isn’t it ? However, she assured me that it was, 
so I asked her if she had one herself, and she said 
she had, and it was her great reverence for Mr. 
Trench, and they were secretly engaged ! — and she 
hoped I would not mention it to anybody; and 
presently, when he joined us, would I mind riding 
on, as she had so few chances to talk to him ? That 
she would not for the world 'deceive her mother, 
but there were mysteries connected with her religion 
which l.ady Carriston could not understand, being 
only Low Church. But when they saw a prospect 
of getting married they would tell her about it; if 
they did it now, she would persuade the Duke not 
to give Mr. Trench the Bellstoke living, which he 
has half promised him, and so make it impossible 
for them to marry. 

I asked her if Mr. Trench was Miss Garnon’s an- 
chor too? — and she seemed quite annoyed, so I 
suppose their religion has heaps of different mys- 
teries ; but I don’t see what all that has got to do 
with telling her mother, do you? And I should 
rather turn Low Church than have to kiss Mr. 
Trench, anyway. He came from a side path and 
ioined us, and as soon as I could I left them ; but 


64 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


they picked me up again by the inner gate, just as 
I was going in to lunch, after having had a beauti- 
ful ride. The park is magnificent. 

At lunch I sat by the old Earl. He said my hair 
was a sunbeam’s home, and that my nose was fit 
for a cameo ; he is perfectly charming. Afterwards 
we went en hloc to the library, and the Garnons be- 
gan to knit again. Nobody says a word about 
clothes ; they talked about the Girls’ Friendly So- 
ciety, and the Idiot Asylum, and the Flannel Union, 
and Higher Education, and whenever Lady Gar- 
nons mentions any one that Lady Carriston does 
not know all about, she always says, “Oh! and .who 
was she?” and then, after thoroughly sifting it, if 
she finds that the person in question does not be- 
long to any of the branches of the family that she 
is acquainted with, she says “Society is getting very 
mixed now.” Presently about six more people ar- 
rived. There seems to be nothing but these ghastly 
three-o’clock trains here. All the new lot were af- 
fected by it, just as I was. There were endless 
pauses. 

I would much rather scream at Aunt Maria for a 
whole afternoon than have to spend it with Lady 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


65 


Carriston. When I got up to my room I was as- 
tonished to find it was so late. I had not even 
scrambled into my clothes when the clock struck 
five. I had forgotten all about Charlie and his scrap 
of paper, but when I got into the blue drawing- 
room, there he was, with his wrist bandaged up, and 
no signs of tea about. What do you think the hor- 
rid boy had done, Mamma? Actually had the big 
gold clock in my room put on ! ! ! There were 
ten chances to one, he said, against my looking at 
my watch, and he knew I would not come down 
unless I thought it was five, I was so cross that I 
wanted to go upstairs again, but he would not let 
me ; he stood in front of the door, and there was no 
good making a fuss, so I sat down by the fire. 

He said he had seen last night how struck his 
grandfather had been with me, and he did want me 
to get round him, as he had got into an awful mess, 
and had not an idea how he was going to get out 
of it, unless I helped him. I said I was sorry, but 
I really did not see how I could do anything, and 
that he had better tell his mother, as she adored 
him so. 


66 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


He simply jumped with horror at the idea of tell- 
ing his mother. '‘Good Lord!’’ he said, “the old 
girl would murder me,” which I did not think very 
respectful of him. Then he fidgeted, and humm’d 
and haw’d for such a time that tea had begun to 
come in before I could understand the least bit 
what the mess was ; but it was something about a 
Cora de la Haye, who dances at the Empire, and a 
diamond necklace, and how he was madly in love 
with her, and intended to marry her, but he had lost 
such a lot of money at Goodwood, that no one knew 
about, as he was supposed not to have been there, 
that he could not pay for the necklace unless his 
grandfather gave him a lump sum to pay his debts 
at Oxford with, and that what he wanted was for 
me to get round the old Earl to give him this 
money, and then he could pay for Cora de la Haye’s 
necklace ! 

He showed me her photo, which he keeps in his 
pocket. It is just like the ones in the shops in the 
Rue de Rivoli that Mademoiselle never would let 
me stop and look at in Paris. I am sure Lady Car- 
riston can’t have been having second sight into her 
children’s thoughts lately. 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


67 


Just then Lady Garnons and some of the new 
people came in, and he was obliged to stop. We 
had a kind of high tea, as the Conservative meeting 
was to be at eight, and it is three-quarters of an 
hour’s drive into Barchurch, and there was to be a 
big supper after. Lady ("arriston did make such a 
fuss over Charlie’s wrist. She wanted to know was 
it badly sprained, and did it ache much, and was it 
swollen, and he had the effrontery to let her almost 
cry over him, and pretended to wince when she 
touched it ! As we were driving in to the meeting 
he sat next me in the omnibus, and kept squeezing 
my arm all the time under the rug, which did annoy 
me so, that at last I gave his ankle a nasty kick, and 
then he left off for a little. He has not the ways of 
a gentleman, and I think he had better marry his 
Cora, and settle down into a class more suited to 
him than ours; but I sha’n’t help him with his 
grandfather. 

Have you ever been to a political meeting, dear 
Mamma? It is funny! All these old gentlemen 
sit up on a platform and talk such a lot. The Duke 
put in '‘buts” and “ifs” and “thats” over and over 
again when he could not think of a word, and you 


68 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


weren’t a bit the wiser Avhen he had finished, ex- 
cept that it was awfully wrong to put up barbed 
wire ; but I can’t see what that has to do with poli- 
tics, can you? One of the pepper-and-salts did 
speak nicely, and so did one of the new people — 
quite a youngish person ; but they all had such a lot 
of words, when it would have done just as well if 
they had simply said that of course our side was the 
right one — because trade was good when we were 
in, and that there are much better people Conserva- 
tives than Radicals. Anyway, no one stays a Rad- 
ical when he is his own father, as it would be ab- 
surd to cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face — don’t 
you think so^ Mamma? So it is nonsense talking 
so much. One or two rude people in the back 
called out things, but no one paid any attention; 
and at last, after lots of cheering, we got into the 
omnibus again. I was hungry. At supper we sat 
more or less anyhow, and I happened to be next the 
youngish person who spoke. I don’t know his 
name, but I know he wasn’t any one very grand, as 
Lady Carriston said, before they arrived in the af- 
ternoon, that things were changing dreadfully ; that 
even the Conservative party was being invaded by 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


69 


people of no family ; and she gave him two fingers 
when she said “How d’ye do?” But if he is no- 
body, I call it very nice of him to be a Conservative, 
and then he won’t have to change afterwards when 
he gets high up. The old Earl asked me what I 
thought of it all, so I told him ; and he said that it 
was a great pity they could not have me at the head 
of affairs, and then things would be arranged on a 
really simple and satisfactory basis. 

After breakfast this morning most of the new 
people went, and the Duke and the pepper-and- 
salts : I^ady Carriston drove Lady Garnons over to 
see her Idiot Asylum. They were to lunch near 
there, so we had our food in peace without them, 
and you would not believe the difference there was ! 
Everyone woke up. Old Sir Samuel Garnons, who 
had not spoken once that I heard since I came, 
joked with Fraulein Schlarbaum. Charlie had two 
brandies-and-sodas instead of his usual glass of 
milk, and Adeline and Miss Garnons were able to 
gaze at their anchor without fear. 

This afternoon I have been for a ride with Char- 
lie, and do you know. Mamma, I believe he is try- 


70 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


ing to make love to me, but it is all in such horrid 
slang that I am not quite sure. 

I must stop now. 

With love, 

From your affectionate daughter, 

ELIZABETH. 

P. S. — Sunday. I missed the post last night. We 
did spend a boring evening doing nothing, not even 
dummy whist, like at Aunt Maria’s, and I was so 
tired hearing the two old ladies talking over the 
Idiots they had seen at the Asylum, that I was 
thankful when half-past ten came. As for today, 
I am glad it is the last one I shall spend here. 
There is a settled gloom over everything, a sort of 
Sunday feeling that makes one eat too much lunch. 
Mr. Trench had been allowed to conduct the ser- 
vice in the Chapel this morning, and Lady Carris- 
ton kept tapping her foot all the time with annoy- 
ance at all his little tricks, and once or twice, when 
he was extra go-ahead, I heard her murmuring to 
herself “Ridiculous!” and “Scandalous!” What 
will she do when he is her son-in-law ? 

Adeline and Miss Garnons knelt whenever they 
could, and as long as they could, and took off their 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


71 


gloves and folded their hands. I think Adeline 
hates Miss Garnons because she is allowed to cross 
herself; and of course Adeline daren’t, with her 
mother there. 

After tea Charlie managed to get up quite close 
to me in a corner ; and while out loud he was ex- 
plaining how his new bicycle-wheel worked, he got 
in between, in a low voice, that I was “a stunner,” 
and that if I would just ''give him the tip” he’d 
"chuck Cora tomorrow;” that I "could give her 
fits !” And if that is a proposal. Mamma, I don’t 
want any more. 

We are coming by the early train tomorrow ; so, 
till then, good-bye. 

Your affectionate daughter, 

ELIZABETH. 


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THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


75 


Chevenix Castle, 

November 20th. 

Dearest Mamma, — 

I am sure I shall enjoy myself here. The train 
was so late, and only two other people were coming 
by it besides me, so we all drove up in the omnibus 
together. One was a man, and the other a woman, 
and she glared at me, and fussed her maid so about 
her dressing-bag, and it was such a gorgeous affair, 
and they had such quantities of luggage, and the 
only thing they said on the drive up was how cold 
it was, and they wondered when we should get 
there. And when we did arrive there was only just 
time to rush up and dress for dinner; all the other 
people had come by an earlier train. I left these 
two pets in the care of the Groom of the Chambers, 
as even Cousin Octavia had gone upstairs, and 


76 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


there was not a soul about, but she had left a mes- 
sage for me; and w'hile Agnes was clawing the 
things out of the trunks, I went to her room. She 
was just having her hair done, but she did not mind 
a bit, ’and was awfully glad to see me. She is a 
dear. Her hair is as dark as anything underneath, 
but all the outside is a bright red. She says it is 
much more attractive like that, but it does look odd 
before the front thing is on, and that is a fuzzy 
bit in a net, like what Ro^^alties have. xAnd then 
she has lots of twist-things round at the back, and 
altogether it doesn’t look at all bad when the dia- 
mond stick-ups are in and she is all arranged. She 
went on talking all the time while her maid was 
fixing it, just as if we were alone in the room. She 
told me I had grown six inches since she was with 
us at Arcachon three years ago, and that I was quite 
good looking. She said they had a huge party for 
the balls, some rather nice people, and Lady Do- 
raine and one or two others she hated. I said why 
did she have people she hated — that I would not if 
I were a Countess like her; so she said those were 
often the very ones one was obliged to have, be- 
cause the nice men wouldn’t come without them. 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


77 


.She hoped. I had some decent clothes, as she had 
got a tame Millionaire for me. So I said if it was 
Mr. Wertz she need not bother, because I knew 
him ! and, besides, I only intended to marry a gen- 
tleman, unless, of course, I should get past twenty 
and passe, and then goodness knows what I might 
take. She laughed, and said it was ridiculous to be 
so particular, but that anyway that would be no 
difficulty, as everyone was a gentleman now who 
paid for things. 

Then she sent me off to dress, just as she began 
to put some red stuff on her lips. It is wonderful 
how nice she looks when everything is done, even 
though she has quite a different coloured chest to 
the top bit that shows above her pearl collar, that 
is brickish-red from hunting. So is her face, but 
she is such a dear that one admires even her great 
big nose and little black eyes, which one would 
think hideous in other people. I met Tom just go- 
ing into her room as I came out; he said he had 
come to borrow some scent from her. He looks 
younger than she does ; but they were the same age 
when they got married, weren’t they? 

He kissed me and said I was a dear little cousin, 


78 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


and had I been boxing any one’s ears lately. Be- 
fore I could box his for talking so, Octavia called 
out to him to let me go, or I should be late, and 
had I not to scurry just! Agnes fortunately had 
everything ready, but I fussed so that my face was 
crimson when I got downstairs, and every one was 
already there. 

There seemed to be dozens of people. You will 
see in the list in the Morning Post tomorrow what 
a number of the Nazeby set there are here. 

Lord Valmond is here, but he did not see me un- 
til we were at dinner. I went in with Mr. Hodgkin- 
son, who is contesting this Division ; he is quite 
young and wears an eyeglass, which he keeps drop- 
ping. Pie really looks silly, but they say he says 
some clever things if you give him time, and that 
he will be a great acquisition to the Party he has 
joined now, as it is much easier to get made a peer 
by the Radicals: and that is what he wants, as his 
father made a huge fortune in bones and glue. 

He did not talk to me at all, but eat his dinner at 
first, and then said: 

‘T don’t believe in talking before the fish, do 
you?”' 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


79 


So I said : “No, nor till after the ices, unless one 
has something to say.’' 

He was so surprised that his eyeglass dropped, 
and he had to fumble to find it, so by that time I 
had begun to talk to old Colonel Blake, who was 
at the other side of me. 

Lady Doraine was looking so pretty; her hair 
has grown much fairer and nicer than it was at 
Nazeby. Lord Doraine is here, too; his eyes are 
so close together ! He plays a game called 
‘‘Bridge” with Mr. Wertz and Mr. Hodgkinson and 
Tom all the time — I mean in the afternoon before 
dinner — so Mr. Hodgkinson told me when we got 
to dessert. I suppose it was the first thing he had 
found to say ! So I asked him if that was a kind of 
leap-frog; because don’t you remember we called 
it “Bridge” when you had to jump two? He said 
“No that it was a game of cards, and much more 
profitable if one had the luck of Lord Doraine, who 
had won heaps of money from Mr. Wertz. After- 
wards, in the drawing-room. Lady Doraine came 
up to me and asked me where I had been hiding 
since the Nazeby visit. She has such a splendid 
new rope of pearls, and such lovely clothes. The 


8o 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


Rooses are here too, and Jane has a cold in her 
head : she says she heard by this evening’s post that 
Miss La Touche is going to be married to old Lord 
Kidminster, and that he is “too deaf to have heard 
everything, so it is just as well.” I can’t see why, 
as Miss I.a Touche is so nice, and never talks rub- 
bish ; so I think it a pity he can’t hear all she says, 
don’t you? 

Lady Doraine calls Octavia “darling !” She 
stood fiddling with her diamond chain and purring 
over her frock, so I suppose she is fond of her in 
spite of Octavia hating her. 

After dinner Lord Valmond came up to me at 
once, looking like thunder, so I felt obliged to ask 
him how he had enjoyed his dinner with Aunt Ma- 
ria ! Ife said he would be even with me some day \ 
Then he said Mr. Hodgkinson was an ass, and that 
he had been watching us at dinner. And then Lord 
Doraine came up and Lady Doraine introduced 
him to me, and he said a number of nice things, and 
he has a charming voice ; and Mr. Wertz came up 
too, and spoke to me; and then Lady Doraine 
called T.ord A^almond to come and sit on the little 
sofa by her, and she looked at him so fondly 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


8i 


that I thought perhaps Lord Doraine might not 
like it. He tried not to see, but Mr. Wertz did, and 
I think he must have a kind heart, because he 
fidgeted so, and almost at once went and joined 
them to break up the tete-a-tete, so that Lord Do- 
raine might not be teased any more, I suppose. 
And every one. went to bed rather early, because of 
the ball and shoot tomorrow, and I must jump in 
too, as T am sleepy, so good-night, dearest Mamma. 

Your affectionate daughter, 

ELIZABETH. 


82 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


Chevenix Castle, 

November 21st. 

Dearest Mamma, — 

Such a lot to tell you, and no time, as I must go 
down to tea. We passed rather a boring morning 
after the men had started for their shoot. Only a 
few people were down for breakfast, and none of 
the men who weren’t guns. I suppose they were 
asleep. But Lady Gertrude Fenton was as cross 
as a bear because she wanted to go and shoot too. 
She is just like a man, and does look so odd and 
almost improper in the evening in female dress. 
And Tom won’t have women out shooting, except 
for lunch. Lady Doraine and Lady Greswold 
talked by the fire while they smoked, and Lady 
Greswold said she really did not know where the 
peers were to turn to now to make an honest penny. 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


S3 


their names being no more good in the City, and 
that it was abominably hard that in future, she had 
heard, they would have to understand business and 
work just like ordinary Stock Exchange people if 
they wanted to get on, and she did not know what 
things were coming to. 

At lunch, in the chalet in the wood, it was rather 
fun. Mr. Hodgkinson and Lord Doraine sat on 
either side of me. Lord Valmond came up with the 
last guns, rather late, and he looked round the ta- 
ble and frowned. He seems quite grumpy now, 
not half so good-tempered as he used to be. I ex- 
pect it is because Mrs. Smith isn’t here. 

Mr. Wertz was so beautifully turned out in the 
newest clothes and the loveliest stockings, and he 
had two loaders and three guns, and Lord Doraine 
told me that he had killed three pheasants, but that 
the ground was knee-deep in cartridges round him, 
and that Tom was furious, as he like an enormous 
bag. So I asked why, if Mr. Wertz was not a 
sportsman, had he taken the huge Quickham shoot 
in Norfolk? Then Mr. Hodgkinson chimed in: 
“Oh, to entertain Royalty and the husbands of his 
charming lady friends!” and he fixed his eyeglass 


84 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


and looked round the corner of it at Lord Doraine, 
who drank a glass of peach brandy. 

After lunch the men had to start quickly, as we 
had dawdled so, and so we turned to go back to the 
house. 

Octavia put her arm through mine, and we were 
walking on, when Lady Doraine joined us, with the 
woman who had glared at me in the omnibus. She 
looked as if .^he hated walking. She is not actually 
stout, but everything is as tight as possible, and it 
does make her puff. She was awfully smart, and 
had the thinnest boots on. Lady Doraine w^as be- 
ing so lovely to her, and Octavia w^as in one of her 
moods when she talks over people’s heads, so we 
had not a very pleasant walk, until we came to the 
stable gate, when Octavia and I went that way to 
see her new hunters. We had hardly got out of 
hearing when she said : 

^‘Really, Elizabeth, how I dislike women !*’ 

So I asked her who the puffing lady was, and she 
said a Mrs. Pike, the new Colonial millionairess. 

“Horrid creature, as unnecessary as can be !” 

So I asked her why she had invited her, then. 
And she said her sister-in-law Carry had got round 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


85 


Tom and made a point of it, as she was running 
them, and now Carry had got the measles and could 
not come to look after the creature herself; and it 
would serve her right if Folly Doraine took them 
out of her hands. And so you see, mamma, every- 
thing has changed from your days, because this 
isn’t a person you would dream of knowing. I 
don’t quite understand what “running them” means, 
and as Octavia was a little out of temper, I did not 
like to ask her ; but Jane Roose is sure to know, so 
I will find out and tell you. I went and played with 
the children when we got in. They are such ducks, 
and we had a splendid romp. Little Tom is enor- 
mous for five, and so clever, and Gwynnie is the 
image of Octavia when her hair was dark. Now I 
must go down to tea. 

7.30. I was so late. Every one was there when 
I got down, in such gorgeous tea-gowns; I wore 
my white mousseline delaine frock. The Looses 
have the look of using out their summer best 
dresses. Jane’s cold is worse. The guns had got 
back, and came straggling in one by one, as they 
dressed, quickly or slowly; and Lord Doraine had 
such a lovely velvet suit on, and he said such nice 


86 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


things to me; and Lord Valmond sat at the other 
side, and seemed more ill-tempered than ever. I 
can’t think what is the matter with him. At last he 
asked me to play Patience with him ; so I said that 
was a game one played by oneself, and he said he 
knew quite a new one which he was sure I would 
like to learn ; but I did not particularly want to just 
then. Lady Doraine was showing Mr. Wertz her 
new one, at the other side of the hall. There are 
some cosy little tables arranged for playing cards, 
with nice screens near, so that the other people’s 
counting, &c., may not put one out. 

Mrs. Pike was too splendid for words, in petunia 
satin, and sable, and quantities of pearl chains ; and 
Tom was trying to talk to her. Nobody worries 
about Mr. Pike much ; but Lord Doraine took him 
off to the billiard-room, after collecting Mr. Wertz, 
to play “Bridge” — everybody plays “Bridge,” I 
find — and then Lady Doraine came and joined Lord 
Valmond and me on the big sofa. 

Valmond hardly spoke after that, and she teased 
him, and said : “Harry, what a child you are !” and 
she looked as sweetly malicious as the tortoiseshell 
cat at home does when it is going to scratch wdiile 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


87 


it is purring. And presently Dolly Tenterdown 
came over to us (he is in Cousin Jack’s battalion of 
the Coldstreams, and he looks about fifteen, but he 
behaves very “grown up”), and he asked Lady Do- 
raine to come and teach him her New Patience ; and 
they went to one of the screen tables, and Lord 
Valmond said he was a charming fellow, but I 
thought he looked silly, and I do wonder what she 
found to say to him. She must be quite ten years 
older than he is, and Jane Roose says it is an awful 
sign of age when people play with boys. 

Lord Valmond asked me to keep him some 
dances tonight, but I said I really did not know 
what I should do until it began, as I had never 
been at a ball before. I haven’t forgiven him a bit, 
so he need not think I have. Now I must stop. 
Oh ! I am longing to put on my white tulle, and I 
do feel excited. 

Your affectionate daughter, 

ELIZABETH. 

P. S. — I asked Jane Roose what “running them” 
means, and it’s being put on to things in the City, 
and having all your bills paid if you introduce them 


88 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


to people; only you sometimes have to write their 
letters for them to prevent them putting the whole 
grand address, &c., that is in the Peerage ; and she 
says it is quite a profession now, and done by the 
best people, which of course must be true, as Carry 
is Tom’s sister. E. 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


89 


Chevenix Castle, 

November 22nd. 

Dearest Mamina, — 

Oh ! it was too, too lovely last night. I am hav- 
ing my breakfast in bed today, just like the other 
grown-up people, and it really feels so grand to be 
writing to you between sips of tea and nibbles of 
toast and strawberry jam! Well, to tell you about 
the ball. First, my white tulle was a dream. Oc- 
tavia said it was by far the prettiest debutante frock 
she had ever seen ; and when I was dressed she sent 
for me to her room, and Tom was there too, and 
she took out of a duck of a white satin case a lovely 
string of pearls, and put it round my throat, and 
.said it was their present to me for my first ball! 
Wasn’t it angelic of them? I hugged and kissed 
them both, and almost squashed Tom’s buttonhole 
into his pink coat, I was so pleased, but he said he 
didn’t mind; and then we all went down together, 


90 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


and no one else was ready, so we looked through 
the rooms. The dancing, of course, was to be in 
the picture-gallery, and the flowers were so splen- 
did everywhere, and Octavia was quite satisfied. It 
is a mercy it is such a big house, for we weren’t put 
out a bit beforehand by the preparations. 

I don’t know if you were ever like that. Mamma, 
but I felt as if I must jump about and sing, and my 
cheeks were burning. Octavia sat down and 
played a valse, and Tom and I opened the ball by 
ourselves in the empty room, and it was fun, and 
then we saw Lord Valmond peeping in at the door, 
and he came up and said Tom was not to be greedy, 
and so I danced the two last rounds with him, and 
he had such a strange look in his eyes, and he 
never said one word until we stopped. And then 
Octavia went out of the other door, and I don’t 
know where Tom went, but we were alone, and so 
he said, would I forgive him and be friends, that he 
had never been so sorry for anything in his life as 
having offended me. He really seemed so penitent, 
and he does dance so beautifully, and he is so tall 
and nice in his pink coat ; and, besides — I remem- 
bered his dinner with Aunt Maria! So I said All 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


91 


right, I would try, if he would promise never to be 
horrid again ; and he said he wouldn’t; and then we 
shook hands, and he said I looked lovely, and that 
my frock was perfect; and then Tom came back 
and we went into the hall, and everybody was down, 
and they had drawn for partners to go into dinner 
while we were in the ballroom. Tom had made 
Octavia arrange that we should draw, as he said he 
could not stand Lady Greswold two nights running. 
Octavia said she had drawn for Lord Valmond, be- 
cause he wasn’t there, and that his slip of paper was 
me, and he said on our way into the dining-room 
that Octavia was a brick. We had such fun at din- 
ner, now that I have forgiven him, and have not to 
be thinking all the time of how nasty I can be — we 
get on splendidly. 

Mr. Wertz was at the other side of me with Mrs. 
Pike ; but as he isn’t "‘running” them he had not to 
bother to talk to her, and he is really very intelli- 
gent, and we three had such an amusing time. Lord 
Valmond was in a lovely temper. Jane Roose said 
afterwards in the drawing-room that it was because 
Mrs. Smith was coming with the Courceys to the 
ball. I.ady Doraine had drawn Mr. Pike, who is 


92 


HE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


melancholy-looking, with a long Jew nose; but she 
woke him up, and got him quite animated by des- 
sert; and Mrs. Pike did not like it one bit. I over- 
heard her speaking to him about it afterwards, and 
he said so roughly, “You mind your own climbing, 
Mary ; you ought to be glad, as it’s a titled lady !” 
Well, then, by the time we were all assembled in 
the hall, every one began to arrive. Oh, it was so, 
so lovely! Every one looked at me as I stood be- 
side Octavia at first, because they all knew the ball 
was given for me, and then for the first dance I 
danced with Tom, and after that I had heaps of 
partners, and I can’t tell you about each dance, but 
it was all heavenly. I tried to remember what you 
said and not dance more than three times with the 
same person; but, somehow, Lord Valmond got 
four, and another — but that was an extra. 

Mrs. Smith did come with the Courceys, and she 
was looking so smart with a beautiful gown on, and 
Jane Roose said it was a mercy Valmond was so 
rich ; but T don’t see what that had to do with it. I 
saw him dancing with her once, but he looked as 
cross as two sticks, perhaps because she was rather 
late.. Do you know. Mamma, a lot of the Beauties 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


93 


we are always reading about in the papers, as hav- 
ing walked in the Park looking very lovely, were 
there, and some of them are quite, quite old — much 
older than you — and all trimmed up ! Aren’t you 
astonished? And one has a grown-up son and 
daughter, and she danced all the time with Dolly 
Tenterdown, who was her son’s fag at Eton, Lord 
Doraine told me. Isn’t it odd? And another was 
the lady Sir Charles Ilelmsford was with on the 
Promenade at Nice, when you would not let me 
bow to him ; do you remember ? And she is as old 
as the other! 

I.ord Doraine was rather a bother, he wanted to 
dance with me so often ; so at last I said to Octavia 
I really was' not at my first ball to dance with old 
men (he is quite forty), and what was I to do? And 
she was so cross with him, and I could see her talk- 
ing to him about it when she danced with him her- 
self next dance ; and after that till supper he disap- 
peared — into the smoking-room, I suppose, to play 
^‘Bridge.” 

I went in to supper first with the Duke of Meath 
— he had just finished taking in Octavia — he is 
such a nice boy : and then, as we were coming out. 


94 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


we went down a corridor, and there in a window- 
seat were Lord Valmond and Mrs. Smith, and he 
was still gloomy, and she had the same green-rhu- 
barb-juice look she had the last night at Nazeby. 
He jumped up at once, and said to me he hoped I 
had not forgotten I had promised to go in to sup- 
per with him, so I said I had just come from sup- 
per; and while we were speaking IMrs. Smith had 
got the Duke to sit down beside her, and so I had 
to go off with Lord Valmond, and he seemed so 
odd and nervous, and as if he were apologising 
about something; but I don’t know what it could 
have been, as he had not asked me before to go in 
to supper with him. He seemed to cheer up pres- 
ently, and persuaded me to go back into the supper 
room, as he said he was so hungry, and we found a 
dear little table, with big flower things on it, in a 
corner ; but when we got there he only played with 
an ortolan and drank some champagne, but he did 
take such a while about it; and each time I said I 
was sure the next dance was beginning he said he 
was still hungry. I have never seen any one have 
so much on their plate and eat so little. At last I 
insisted on going back, and when we got to the 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


95 


ballroom an extra was happening, and he said I had 
promised him that, but I hadn’t. However, we 
danced, and after that, having been so long away 
at supper, and one thing and another, my engage- 
ments seemed to get mixed, and I danced with all 
sorts of people I hadn’t promised to in the begin- 
ning. And at last it came to an end, and when the 
last carriage had driven away, we all went and had 
another hot supper. 

Mr. Pike would sit next to I-ady Doraine, and 
he was as gay as a blackbird, and I heard Octavia 
saying to Lady Greswold that Carry had better 
hurry up and get that house in Park vStreet, or Lady 
Doraine would have it instead. Then we all went 
to bed, and Lord Valmond squeezed my hand and 
looked as silly as anything, and Jane Roose, who 
saw, said I had better be careful, as he was playing 
me off against Mrs. Smith, which was great imper- 
tinence of her, I think — don’t you? — especially as 
Mrs. Smith had gone, so I can’t see the point. 

Now I am going to get up. 

Your affectionate daughter, 

ELIZABETH. 


96 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


Chevenix Castle, 

November 2Sth. 

Dearest Mamma, — 

Octavia is writing to you, and we have such a 
piece of news for you; but first, I must tell you 
about Thursday and yesterday. The morning after 
the ball here no one came down till lunch, and in 
the afternoon Lady Doraine suggested we should 
have some tableaux in the evening, and so we were 
busy all the time arranging them. They were all 
bosh, but it was so amusing. Mrs. Pike lent every 
one her tea-gowns — she has dozens — and they did 
splendidly for the Queen of Sheba; and Mr. Pike 
played Charles I. having his head cut ofif, as Lady 
Doraine told him he had just the type of lofty mel- 
ancholy face for that. I was the old woman in the 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


97 


shoe, with all the biggest people for children; but 
the best of all was Dolly Tenterdown as “Bubbles/' 
Lord Doraine and Mr. Wertz and Tom and some 
others played “Bridge" all the time while we were 
arranging them ; but Lord Valmond was most use- 
ful, and in such a decent temper. After they were 
over we danced a little, and it was all delightful. 

Yesterday, the day of the county ball in Cheve- 
nix, they shot again; and it rained just as we all 
came down ready to start for the lunch; so we 
couldn’t go, and had to lunch indoors without most 
of the men. Mr. Pike hadn’t gone shooting, be- 
cause I heard Tom saying the night before to Lady 
Doraine that he wouldn’t chance the party being 
murdered again, and that she must keep him at 
home somehow. And she did, and taught him Pa- 
tience in the hall, after lunch ; and Mrs. Pike went 
and wanted to learn it too, but Lady Doraine— 
who was lovely to her — somehow did not make 
much room on the sofa, so she had to go and sit 
somewhere else. 

Half the people were playing Bridge, and the rest 
were, very comfortable, and smoking cigarettes, of 
course ; so Mrs. Pike did too. Pier case is gold, 


98 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


with a splendid monogram in big rubies on it ; but 
I am sure it makes her feel sick, because she puffs 
it out and makes it burn up as soon as she can with- 
out its being in her mouth. She had to go and lie 
down after that, as she said she would be too tired 
for the ball ; but nobody paid much attention. 

It was more lively at tea-time, when the guns 
came in. And Lord Doraine would sit by me; he 
talked about poetry, and said dozens of nice things 
about me, and all sorts of amusing ones about 
every one else ; and Lord Valmond, who had gone 
to write some letters at a table near, seemed so put 
out with every one talking, that he could not keep 
his attention, and at last he tore them up, and came 
and sat close to us, and told Lord Doraine that he 
could see Mr. Wertz was longing for ‘‘Bridge.’' 
And so he got up, and laughed in such a way, and 
said “All right, Harry, old boy.” And Valmond 
got crimson — I don’t know what at — and looked as 
cross as a bear for a few minutes. We had rather 
a hurried dinner. 

My white chiffon is as pretty as the tulle, and 
Octavia was quite pleased with me. There were 
omnibuses and two broughams for us to go in. 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


99 


Octavia took me with her alone in one. I wanted 
to go in one of the omnibuses — it looked so much 
gayer — but she wouldn’t let me. It is not much of 
a drive, as you know, and we all got there at the 
same time almost, and our party did look so smart 
as we came in. 

Octavia sailed like a Queen up the room to a car- 
peted raised place at the end, and there held a sort 
of court. 

The Duchess of Glamorgan was already there 
with her three daughters, and their teeth stick out 
just like Mrs. Vavaseur’s ; only they look ready to 
bite, and she was always smiling. The men of their 
party were so young and looked as if they would 
not hurt a fly, and the Duchess had me introduced 
to her and asked about you. And Mrs. Pike tried 
to join in the conversation, and the Duchess fixed 
on her pince-nez and looked at her for quite ten 
seconds, and then said, when she had retired a lit- 
tle, ^Who is this gorgeous person?*’ And when I 
said Mrs. Pike, she said, “I don’t remember the 
name” in a tone that dismissed Mrs. Pike from the 
universe as far as she was concerned ; and Jane 
Roose says she is almost the only Duchess who 
LofC. 


lOO 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


won’t know parvenues, and that is what makes her 
set so dull. 

There were such a lot of funny frumpy people at 
the other end of the room— 'the rabble,” Mrs. Pike 
called them. 'T^et us walk round and look at the 
rabble,” she said to Lord Doraine, who was stand- 
ing by her. And they went. 

I had such lots of partners, I don’t know what 
any one else did ; I was enjoying myself so, until 
after supper, which I had with Lord Valmond, and 
Octavia and the little Duke were at our table too, 
and it was so gay. But after that there was a polka. 
I danced it with some idiot who almost at once let 
yards and yards of my chiffon frills get torn, so I 
was obliged to go to the cloak room to have it 
pinned up. It was a long way off, and when I came 
cut my partner had disappeared, and there was no 
one about but Lord Doraine; and the moment I 
saw him I hated the look in his e3^es, they seemed 
all swimmy ; and he said in such a nasty fat voice : 
"Little darling, I have sent j^our partner away, and 
I am waiting for 3^011. Come and sit out with me 
among the palms and I don’t know why, but I 
felt frightened, and so I said, No ! that I was going 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


lOT 


back to the ball room. And he got nearer and 
nearer, and caught hold of my arm, and said, ‘‘No, 
no, you shall not unless you give me a kiss first.’’ 

And he would not let me pass. I can’t imagine 
why. Mamma, but I never felt so frightened in my 
life ; and just then, walking aimlessly down the pass- 
age, came I.ord Valmond, and he saw us and came 
up quickly, and I was so glad to see some one that 
I ran to him, as Lord Doraine let me pass directly 
he caught sight of Harry — I mean Lord Valmond 
— and he was in such a rage when he saw how I 
was trembling, and said, “What has that brute been 
saying to you?” and looked as if he wanted to go 
back and fight him ; but I was so terrified that I 
could only say^ ‘^Do come away !” So we went and 
sat in the palm place, and there was not a soul there, 
as every one was dancing ; and I really don’t know 
how it happened, I was so upset about that horrid 
Lord Doraine, that Harry tried to comfort me, and 
— ^he kissed me again — and I hope you won’t be 
very cross. Mamma ; but, somehow, I did not feel 
at all angry this time. And I thought he was fond 
of Mrs. Smith ; but it isn’t, it’s Me ! And we are en- 


102 


THE VISITS OF ELIZABETH. 


gaged. And Octavia is writing to you. And I 
hope you won’t mind. And the post is off, so no 
more. 

From your affectionate daughter, 

ELIZABETH. 

P. S. — I shall get married before the Drawing 
Room in February, because then I can wear a 
tiara. 











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